All tagged The Vampire Diaries

Links & Things: Friday the 13th Edition

Links & Things: Friday the 13th Edition

Sarah Moon
Links + Things

I haven't posted a slew of interesting links in awhile, but I've been saving up a bunch to share with y'all. 

Onward ho!

Video of Awesome

There's a special place in movie hell for Prometheus, quite possibly the worst "film" I've ever seen. Awhile back, Laura sent me this fabulous video about everything that's wrong with that movie. Enjoy. 

Required Reading

Jillian Cantor’s ‘Margot’: Stop Writing Anne Frank Fan-Fiction (Flavorwire)

“ She could have created an original character, but she chose the dead sister of one of history’s most famous murdered children as her subject, and there is something horrifically exploitative about that. Margot’s story in Cantor’s novel is unspecific enough that it could have been about any survivor, but the usage of the Frank name rings of gimmickry. ”
— Jason Diamond, Flavorwire

When I saw Jillian Cantor's Margot up on Netgalley, it certainly gave me pause. As a human being, there's something that just doesn't sit right with me about this premise (and apparently, there are other titles of this ilk). Jason Diamond of Flavorwire wrote a succinct discussion of why this needs to stop. 

Read the rest --> 

List-O-Rama: Tangled Like/Love/Lust That Doesn't Suck

List-O-Rama: Tangled Like/Love/Lust That Doesn't Suck

Sarah Moon
Listorama

I know, I know... the love triangle is everyone's favorite trope to hate. But sometimes... just sometimes, it's kind of fun/intriguing/compelling.

Here are a handful of like/love/lust triangles that I've enjoyed--seriously.

The "Summer" Series by Jenny Han: Belly, Jeremiah, Conrad

Triangle Type: The Classic - Two Brothers Heart One Girl; Girl Hearts Two Brothers--Yo, It's Complicated!
This series not only features a love triangle (and it's really "love") because Belly really cares about both brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad, and they care about her. Their shared history of summers spent together at the shore makes the complexity of the relationships completely believable--it's achy and the dramatics are irresistible. Read my review here.

Amazon | Goodreads

Dear Googler, Volume 2

Dear Googler, Volume 2

Sarah Moon
Dear Googler

Oh, Googlers….  I ♥ you so much. Once again, you asked, I answer.

We get some fantastic search engine queries and, naturally, can’t help but answer these burning questions. 

What are some novels featuring MINI Coopers?

Scorched by Laura Griffin (a terrorist tries to blow up a bridge with a MINI); Yellow MINI by Lori Weber; Carrie Jones’ Need Pixies series. I’m sure there are more, but I’m stumped. Maybe it’s time to rewatch The Italian Job? 

Will True Blood get back to its roots?

I highly doubt that. Just cross your fingers for more shirtless Eric and/or Alcide. 

Photos of Stefan crying.

At your service:

What’s a love poem with s’mores?

Dear Googler: You Ask, CEFS Answers

Dear Googler: You Ask, CEFS Answers

Sarah Moon
Dear Googler

The other day I was looking through the CEFS web statistics and was browsing my favorite section: search terms. 

A fascinating trend I’ve noticed is that many Googlers put their searches in the form of a question, not dissimilar from Jeopardy! Since we get a lot of the same searches, I thought I’d answer a few of these common questions.

[Note: I’ve paraphrased a number of these searches that appear over and over again. But I swear, I’m not making any of this up.]

Friggin' Great.

General Books/Recommendations

What should I read next?

Um… I don’t know. I just finished Wanderlove and adored it. Actually, I don’t even know what I’m reading next, to be honest. Maybe check out our CEFS favorites page?

What are the main themes in [book name]?

Kid, you’ve got to read the book. I’m not doing your homework for you. 

Where can I download [book name] for free?

  1. Try your library, if there’s one in your area. Some publishers participate in ebook lending.
  2. If you’re a Kindle owner with Amazon Prime, you can also access the Kindle Owners’ Library in which you can access one book for free each month; many of these are self-published books, but there are a number of traditional publishers participating as well. 
  3. Check Books on the Knob for daily deals, including freebies. 
  4. If you live in a community with a library (not everyone has one, sadly), you can also check out print books for free—the one in my neighborhood actually holds back new releases each week for people who come into the library (Lucky Day Books), so it’s worth actually going in the library too. 
  5. Some ebooks are lendable. If one you want read is, see if a friend will virtually lend you a book for your Kindle or Nook.
  6. Whatever you do, please don’t pirate books. 

What are some books with lots of sex?

That’s probably a question better answered by Rebeca, whose knowledge on that subject is more broad than mine (I’m trying to get her to review the zombie apocalypse polyamorous novel she just read). But, maybe try Victoria Dahl? Her books are a little much for me, but with that said, they don’t have the yucky gender dynamics that can be very problematic. (Yes, this is a very, very common search term.)

What are some books with lots of action/violence?

I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to this subject, but check out our recommendations for my friend Matt in our Book Matchmaker feature. 

I want to read an urban fantasy series with a strong female lead.

Check out these ideas!

66 Thoughts After Watching 66 Episodes of The Vampire Diaries

66 Thoughts After Watching 66 Episodes of The Vampire Diaries

Sarah Moon
Listorama, Television

As has been well-documented, I love television. 

And I work out of my house. And I need background noise. Silence distracts me. While I love Pandora for background noise in short bursts, I love putting on some Netflix Instant in the background while I crank out a bunch of CSS coding or plan a class or write a communications plan.

Now, I know you’re thinking, 

But, Sarah, how can you watch television and concentrate? That is not at all normal!

Good question!

First off, I never, ever claimed to be “normal.” Secondly, I have no idea, but this dates way back to fights I would have with my mother over watching television while doing my homework. I can actually concentrate better if I have something else to concentrate on too. It’s all part of my genius. Ahem. 

The thing is, I’d kind of run out of new-to-me televisions shows to watch and was resorting to rewatching some of my old favorites. 

Last month, I found myself inexplicably drawn to hitting the “watch now” on The Vampire Diaries. And watched all 66 episodes of the first three seasons over the course of an embarrassingly short period of time.

And I have some thoughts on The Vampire Diaries. Sixty-six of them, to be precise. 

1-2) The first few episodes are essentially Dawson’s Creek with Vampires. I almost didn’t keep watching. So much angst and silly dialogue. 

3-6) I have many concerns about Stefan’s hair.

Stefan The Vampire Diaries

First of all, he’s supposed to be from the Civil War Era, but his hair is straight out of 1955. And I wonder how much time Stefan spends on his hair—certainly more than Elena. This should have been a warning sign. And since the TVD vamps are vulnerable to fire, wouldn’t all the product pose a risk, given all the candles used around the Salvatore mansion?